In the traditional concert hall setting (a classical guitar with no amplification) the highs will usually start to die out and “round off” when they start reaching the audience.

That’s one of the reasons fingernails work well for classical guitar (not to mention nails work better on nylon strings as well.)

As we get closer to the guitar the sound of nails may seem harsher because we’d be hearing more highs.

Get it? The highs die out with distance.

What About Amplification?

Once amplification comes into the picture, everything changes.

There is less “distance” between the plucked string and the listeners ear, because the guitar “pickup” captures the guitar sound ON the guitar.

This “close up” sound is then made louder. It is “as if” the listeners ear is closer to the guitar.

How does this affect the “tone”?

There’s usually a “brighter” sound to deal with once we use amplification, (the highs get no chance to die off in the air) so we’ll need a new way to “round off” this sound so it is not harsh and too “trebly”.

We have 2 options for fixing the sound.

Do we adjust the sound at the origin (finger & string contact)?

Do we adjust the sound at the delivery point (electronic tone / eq adjustment )?

My experience over years and years has shown me over and over – if you start with a good “originating sound” just with your fingers and strings, you’ll be in good shape tone wise no matter what.

Garbage in, Garbage Out!

My experience has also shown me that correcting a fundamentally bad sound with electronics is pretty much, IMPOSSIBLE! Trust me on this!

Many guitarists (particularly in jazz) produce the small, brittle sound at the origin, and try to improve it by “rolling off treble” on the electronics. This sounds like someone screaming into a pillow. “Woofy” tone is not good tone.

So – producing a good solid tone is critical – then you don’t have to “hide the highs”. I find using the flesh to be my solution for producing a good solid tone at the “front of the sound chain” or “origin” – a nice attack, and I can let the highs stay there for nuance.

It works well for amplified guitars to do it this way.

(Even if you use nails, just make sure you are making a nice sound at “front of the sound chain”, meaning your fingers and the guitar.)

How To Produce a Good Tone – In General

Of course words are merely a pointer – but I suggest this – with the flesh of your thumb, pop the string in towards your belly button and get the string to vibrate in & out 90 degrees to the top of the guitar (not up & down between the floor & ceiling!)

Go for “maximum” comfort volume.

Now listen for the fullest sound you can get, and experiment purely with sound. Try to set the string into motion this way, by pressing the string in towards your belly when you play.

Now make your fingers – with or without nails, sound like that! 🙂

What About Speed & Nails?

There are different kinds of speed.

velocity – lots of fast notes

tempo

Don’t confuse “velocity” with “tempo”.

Velocity:

It’s certainly easier to do fast arpeggios and tremolos with nails since they can get “in and out” of a note faster. Flesh requires you to “pop” the note with a deeper sound – tougher to play fast.

Nails win here.

Tempos:

Fast “tempos” come from within the musician, so that’s a rhythmic issue, and quite different from razzle dazzle techniques like tremolo. A little razzle dazzle is good, but it’s not “fundamental” to making good music.

Tempo is flow and groove – and has nothing to do with nails or flesh.

A Brief History of Flesh vs Nails

Fernando Sor and Mauro Giuliani played with flesh.

Tarrega played with nails and toward the end of his life played with flesh.

Segovia – due to his greatness and popularity – became the “standard” for many players, and used nails and called anyone who didn’t do it his way “an idiot”.

In the fingerstyle world Doyle Dykes, Pete Huttlinger, Clive Carroll – use nails. They are all awesome!

Tommy Emmanuel, Joe Robinson, Michael Fix use flesh and they are awesome!

Interesting point – Virtuoso Pepe Romero advised classical guitarists to play with flesh for at least one year to understand the basics of producing a sound, even if they choose nails later.

Nail Care and Breakage, and Practical Considerations…

Nail care is a whole “way of life” and I remember when I was a classical player as a teen – all the nail care using super “Krazy” glue, cutting ping pong balls as fake nails and gluing them on, sandpaper – was for me, a total hassle.

I think caring for nails is a pain in the neck. I play with flesh only, and sometimes a thumbpick.

I tour A LOT. I’m in and out of airports, trains – with guitars & baggage – and it would be easy to break a nail. I’d simply rather not stress and be gluing nails minutes before a gig!

I’ve heard of classical players having to cancel gigs due to nail breakage. Of course they probably say they have the flu though. 🙂

Case closed, for me. No nails. It’s a hassle, and I intentionally built my solo technique style around the practical considerations of not wanting to deal with the nail care problem.

Final Words of Advice

No matter what you choose, just make sure that…

You are producing a FAT sound that originates from a deeper place than just the surface of the string.

The front of your note should be like a “plump grapefruit” – not a cat claw!

You “pop” the string into motion and love the sound you make playing a single note on your high E string. (treble strings tell the truth about your tone.)

If you don’t like your sound, seek to fix it at the finger and string origin point – not the amplifier or eq knob.

Don’t worry about speed. That’s a lower priority than tone.

Listen to all great musicians on other instruments and go for a strength and center in your tone like theirs.

Commit to your choice whatever it is and practice. It can take years to develop technique, so be patient.

Listen attentively to the sound you are making, all the time.

P.S. My all time favorite guitarist is Wes Montgomery, and he played jazz guitar with his thumb only, no pick!

In Conclusion

There’s more than one way to do it.

Pick one way and stick to it!

Play groovy and with a good sound originating on the instrument, and you’ll be in good shape – with or without nails!

I’m Adam Rafferty – a guitar player born and raised in New York City, and currently spending most of my time on tour playing concerts and doing workshops. Get free lessons at adamrafferty.com and get personal online guitar coaching from me at studywithadam.com

Comments

Adam,
I think there is nothing more to add about using nails or flesh – my conclusion was: I am a hobby guitar-player like probably 99% of your audience. Playing with nails is fun but needs a lot exercise, playing with flesh too. No nails makes life simply easier. Playing with nails is no fun if only one nail breaks. It usually takes some weeks to have every nail in the same shape again.
Kay

Adam is there anything into helping fingertips on right hand to get a bit firmer? I play guitar 2 hours a day for years but still callouses are very slow to build up. Just wonder if you ever heard fingerstyle guitarists using rubbing spirit and hazel witch? Thanks

I bought a cheap doormat from Walmart with the really coarse bristles and began rubbing my fingertips across it. At first they hurt and I could only do ten passes. And some of my skin peeled off. But I kept at it and now the tips are toughening up nicely. I have made it a routine two or three times a day.

I have been playing few years and only use my thumb, no pick. I would not call myself a good player and have determined I will never be a great player. I prefer the tone I make playing this way. Since I play for me, I will continue to play this way. My bigger issue is the fretting hand. My fat stubby arthritic fingers just do not want to make cords. So I play single note melodies instead. Again playing for me. I end up with a rather melodic warm tone coming from the acoustic I play. I can get it loud enough to be heard the next room over unamplified. I guess the best I can hope for playing this way is some mix of B.B. King and Wes Montgomery.

Great article and comments! I started playing with my nails years ago but they are thin. They broke often and I was never satisfied with my tone. For a few months recently I tried to play without nails but I just never got used to it and didn’t like the tone either. Finally I decided to go to the nail salon (which is literally right next door to the guitar shop where I teach some lessons) and had my natural nails reinforced with an acrylic overlay. That gave my nails the additional strength they needed and drastically fattened up my tone. For me, this has really changed everything for the better!

I can tell the exact same story. Only, after two and a half years feeling happy as Larry with my acrylic overlays, I started having some allergic reaction or rejection to that stuff, so here I am, without the overlays, really soft fingertips and trying to toughen them up and get used to play with them again, while I’m also trying different types of finger and thumb picks. For thirteen days now I haven’t been able to really enjoy fingerpicking.

To play ‘classical’ style with right hand hanging over the strings in a more perpendicular shape
or
To play more ‘steel string fingerstyle’ with palm on the guitar body and fingers with a flatter approach to the strings.

In my limited way I have come from a (very modest!) classical background and have always stuck with the former. I also stick with nylon and find this works well tone wise.
Where I feel this style loses out bigtime is in what you refer to the groove. It is much more difficult to produce more percussive rhythmic taps/chucks/dampening etc. with the right hand while playing this way..

I have tried the flatter approach but sadly seem to be too far gone to change now. Also it has meant developing dampening techniques with the left hand – overall developing a sound which I feel is quite personal.

I struggle with this exact problem. I love the strength in my right hand with a classical position, but I have to HAVE to palm mute to get the right sound. Because of this I find my P & M fingers string, but the I finger tone weak. It’s a totally different world!

Hi Adam, I have a classical background, but for the past year have been playing acoustic, changed the way I hold guitar and position of my hand so I could plam and play songs like windy and warm and your fantastic arrangement of superstition. Due to classical background was still using my nails up till now. Very recently I have started using the amplifier on a more regular basis and all I could hear when using my index and middle fingers was my nail scratching on the string as the notes were been played amplified. Drastic action required, nails cut and filed down. Now to stat again using bare flesh, hope the callouses build quickly.

Segovia had very short nails, rounded like the end of his finger. That is what I do unless I am playing octaves like Wes Montgomery, also my favorite guitarist, and I use the skin of my thumb, of course.. However, I can’t imagine playing a good classical tremolo without fingernails. Can you?

JIm, that is really a rub, I wish I could do a tremolo well. I did have a kid come in for a lesson once, he had figured out Recuerdos by ear, and played it no nails on a steel string, weird hand position – but it sounded good. Go figure 🙂

Thanks for the advice, Adam. I play both steel- and nylon-string guitars, and I find that overall, I prefer the sound I get on both with nails. I like that James Taylor-type sound. Occasionally, I can grow decent right-hand nails, but rarely all at the same time, and I tend to break my nails while doing other things, so as a practical consideration, I tend to play mostly with flesh. Whether or not I like it better depends on the style of what I’m playing. I guess it’s a moot point, though — if I can’t keep strong nails on my right hand, then I’m resigned to playing with flesh.

I am currently a college senior studying classical guitar – I use and do not use nails depending on how I want to interpret a passage; sometimes playing both at the same time, like a bass ostinato with the flesh of the thumb and whatever melody with nails of the index, middle, etc. I probably elect to use nails in 85% of what I play, but I thought it was worth mentioning some of the effects you can get switching between nails and flesh.

I love nails – so many colors available! So many factors though – especially practical, like if you have 100 concerts / yr and break nails, you need a repair system! Musically though I wish I could have both – nails and none – at different times!

Nail care is tyranny for sure. I found Alaska Piks sometime late in the 20th century and have relied on them ever since. Doesn’t require much fingernail and, in my opinion, they enable good tone while providing fingertip feedback. Yet to be seen whether one can achieve a Rafferty level of funk with them. At least that’s my excuse.

I am kinda surprised you are the only one mentioning Alaska Piks here. They are pretty much the ultimate question to this answer – you don’t need to grow nails (just a very little for Piks to hold), no nail care and you can switch between nails/no nails within few seconds. Now, how cool’s that? 😉

The sound you get from Piks is warmer than what you get from standard nails and closer to a plectrum, which is also enough for me.

Great Blog, thanks a lot, Adam! I was kind of impressed by a vid from my favorite James Tayor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BqISqpMRo8
But I never tried it as I cant match special nail treatment with my way of life …they will break all the time. So I play “flesh”….the only thing is that during seminar weekeds / weeks…when I am playing several hours per day, my fingers starting hurting a lot, they get blisters….what is your advice here Adam ?
Greets from Austria

Maybe the trick is to keep nails short so that they’re less likely to break and I find that it doesn’t impair tone .
Concerning tone, Although I take care to achieve a good full sound when preparing with the band before we start a gig (our double bass player uses his good ears to help us by sitting in the room and giving us directions as we play with a very simple system: small electro acoustic amps that go into a small yamaha sound system), I find that my sound is “drowned ” when playing in some noisy atmospheres – which happens in some places like restaurants- and I feel I tend to strike the strings harder , which makes it more difficult to play fast licks or to keep the atmosphere of a piece.
My friend the other guitaris always sounds harsher and more trebly at first but semms to be less affected in noisy environments.

hi Adam, I am sorry I gave up on the guitar in the late 70’s . I have been at it now for close to 4 yrs
I am 80 and am finding it a bit difficult. you emails help keep them coming. I love to watch you play, it seems so effortless
thanks bob romeo

“In quantum physics we see that light and sound can behave as “particles” or “waves””

With this statement you will fail any physics test 😉
The propagation of light and sound in space is fundamentally different. Sound propagates by pressure or displacement and therefore needs a medium (air, water, etc). Light is an electromagnetic wave which will also travel in vacuum (with a characteristic speed of ca 300000000 m/s). Sound is much slower – and in vacuum there will be silence.

I believe the solution to avoid broken nails today, is to use a nail hardener, with ingedients based on natural herbs, so that worries regardin health issues, should be of no concearn.
I’ve got the product “No Miss – New nails hardener” recommended by someone who teaches flamenco guitar(which is a very physical way of playing the guitar, were nails easily breaks). You can see the product here = https://www.nomiss.com/proddetail.php?prod=NailStrengthener01

I have personally gone back and forth with the length. Each approach has advantages, depending on what style and technique you play with. I currently prefer short nails.

….Oh I forgot to mention, if you are new to using nail hardener products, and want to give it a shoot…….remember to never apply to the whole nail. Only from half of nail and out should you apply the product. The nail needs to “breath”, if you seal the entire nail, you will prevent this and that is not good! 😉

I tried nail hardener for a while when I began experiencing a lot of breakage and my nails had gotten weaker. It did seem to help. But I also learned from my doctor that my iron level was quite low and that I should start taking an iron supplement. (Apparently I had been donating blood too often for my own health.)

Within a year of increasing my iron intake, it was back to normal level, and my nails were back to full strength. My wife has had a similar experience since that time; after raising her iron level to normal, her persistently weak nails are now much stronger.

It makes me wonder how often the weak fingernail lament is related to low iron.

This has been a constant issue with me for many year. I have gone back and forth, again and again. My musical observation is that playing with nails, acrylic, or otherwise, gives a more immediate clarity and “high end”. Playing without nails yields a more “fundamental” tone, and darker (more expressive?) tone. Playing WITHOUT nails is (for me) much MORE difficult. For example, doing a classical tremelo without nails was (is!) a total nightmare. Still, with practice, it can be done and the end result great.. Nails, are “faster”, or seemingly so. That said, flesh is EQUALLY fast, but with MUCH greater effort. I have personally decided to use PURELY fingertips, with just a bit of nail. (So little nail as to not be there at all!) This very subtle “scrape of nail” lends a bit of high end to the tone. In the end, I have found that flesh is more satisfying in terms of physical connection with the instrument. The best advice I have derived from these commentaries is to MAKE UP OUR MIND – and be consistent thereafter. It has take me years to come to this realization. JS

I agree with Paul, it’s nice to switch between nails and flesh, depending on the mood, what is being played etc. Jody Fisher uses nails, as does (I think), Martin Taylor. I mostly do use nails for the Christmas carols arrangements, and flesh or thumb only for jazz chord melody stuff. I like both approaches. I don’t like using a pick much though – even though I do still have my special edition ‘Adam Rafferty’ picks… 😉

Adam…first, big thanks for reading my mind (again!) and posting a topic I was just thinking about!
Second, I’d like to echo what Michel wrote up there (28 March) about striking a medium. I also began in the early ’70s and my guitar greats were cats like Mundell Lowe, Joe Pass, Doc Watson and especially…Chet Atkins (you’ve heard of him, right? 😉 ). I

plowed through one of Chet’s books and found that he was basically using a modified “Scruggs 3-finger” banjo technique, but also putting the ring finger into play.I I kinda remember a part where he went over this—he used nails and a thumb-pick, but kept the nails just long enough as a sorta backbone to the flesh. Really a “flesh” player with a back-up (belt & suspenders?). That may also be a way around the maintenance issue!?

I’m nowhere near an expert and I’m still constantly morphing around because of age, new stuff out there, discovering new ideas—I’m really trying to be as open to change as I can. Just too many smart people out there that can teach me a thing or two! 😉

Just what i wanted to know. After reading this I’m gonna persevere with fingertips, my lifestyle wont allow for nails, they’re really weak anyway. Adam seems to get great speed and sound with his fingertips good enough for me!
just to add to the debate though I’m a fan of the 3 Aussies you mentioned and I’ve noticed the claw-hammer style wrist angle doesn’t lend itself well to nails especially when applying a heavy palm mute Travis style. This might be why Travis only employed 1 finger
just a thought 🙂
great discussion

No discussion of strumming? That’s one place where, IMO, naked fingertips are disappointing.

My conclusion is this: if you have thick nails, be darned glad of ’em and put ’em to use. There are paper-nail folks like me who would sell our souls for nails like that. And for folks like us, we need to sigh, consign ourselves to our fate, and make way in the world somehow. 😉

But bonus points to Joe above (his closing remark). Decide and be consistent.

Everyone posting about weak nails it possibly has to do with diet, a deficiency of a vitamin or mineral, and lack of calus forming behaviour, are my initial thoughts,

i have played finger style for 14 years and i know threw various trials with my own diet that it effects, your nails strenghth, also having been a concreter, i can say touching dirt, concrete p, sand, any thing rough as a job will give you iron finger tips cause your body naturally makes a defence for them callus” and they sound great, so hitting some sand in a can might be a great option cause it actually works, “well for me anyway,”

When i quit that, my fingers got soft and had no where near the tone they once did using flesh, witch forced me to use the position on the string to amplify certain notes, these days i use a thumb pick, and my own nails, witch break consitently, ironically it doesnt make a difference, cause i played so long with flesh i can play a guitar using anything, it just takes practice installing those neurones for where the postion of your string is,
once you understand at a higher level how “your” guitars sound works you use the instruments stike point, pressure, mutes etc, to over come the tone problems threw a nail loss, or pore skin quality,

I would tackle the problem threw not creating one, from experience

Long story short im glad i played flesh first, with multiple conditions of finger hardness threw my learning, nail length, sore unusable fingers etc, it just make you a better player not relying on one specific method for plucking strings and producing the same sound, and knowing your instrument back to front as if it where an extention of you makes life easier… When you do choose to use nails you can do so with ease, with a little research and effort..

I thought you “nailed” it. Thanks for “fleshing” this out for us! Seriously folks, I play a combination of flesh and nails, rotating my hand to achieve desired attack and therefore tone. I notice when you play the treble strings, you pinch your hand together like a crab claw. I had never thought about vibrating the string 90 degrees from the guitar instead of toward the ceiling…that is hopefully a quantum leap in my tone journey. How does palm muting affect this process? I just can’t EVER seem to get palm muting to work. I simply don’t know how to properly practice a technique and I fear I will ingrain something wrong and therefore steer clear from it. Can you please enlighten?

Hi there Adam, Yes, really great article and as well all the various comments. I to suffer with weak RH nails and have used all sorts of stuff over the years, including Tuff Nail, Acrylic Nail Powder, Nail Hardener etc.
My middle and ring fingers have nails with longitudinal ridges through them and tend to crack and split easily and presently the RF nail is shorter than the other two. Ultimately, I find I have been leaning toward using flesh and it does produce a better tone. It is difficult to achieve, but I tend to concentrate on rest strokes so that the lower joint of the finger can roll or snap off the string, but it is a constant battle as I have a touch of Arthritis in the 2nd finger knuckle.
This has arisen from a broken bone in my palm some years earlier. Anyway, really loved all the advise.
Cheers — Trevor Akoorie. New Zealand

I just wanted to say for some people like me, you can’t just ”have a little nail” I know everyone has different size and shape nails and nails beds and for me my nail beds are so low on my fingers that just having a little nail is the same as no nail for me. I have to grow my nails out very long for the white parts just to reach the tip of my fingers let alone over the tip. Just wanted to stress that some people are forced to have long nails if they want to use nails because of where my nail beds are located on my fingers. For me its no nails or finger picks of some kind. Just wanted to say my piece 😛 Have a great day and i love your music!!

I found this blog very pertinent and important, Adam. It’s right on track for me as I fingerpick with bare fingers. My nails are very thin and brittle and they break at the drop of a hat, so I play with very little nail, but some, and mostly what some say is “flesh backed up with nail.” I find it the best way. However, when one of my nails does break I have to file down the others so the fingers “match” tonewise. I do prefer to have the nail there in a short fashion to back up the flesh. Also, it feels better; when my nails get too long I don’ t like the feeling of it because it feels like the nail is going to lift off. And the sound becomes too “metallic” for my taste, so mostly flesh with a tiny nail for me.

I enjoyed your description of plucking the string towards the belly of the guitar, and I’ve read about this before. But, having been playing now for 51 years, I don’t know if I can change my habit! I think I do pluck too much straight up and down. It would be great if you could do a video about this technique and show how to do it slowly and in close up, maybe from a couple of angles. I think it’s hard to envision how to do this solely from the description (as good as it is), and would benefit from visuals.

Jack, thanks. I am still forever messing with this, and even a few days ago got more natural projection from the axe. Yes, I will do some vids…also be sure to check out StudyWithAdam.com my new lesson site.

There are some freebies and a free trial. In the member area there are some technique vids…All the best! AR

wow!! heaps of comments. I did my training as a classical guitarist at Sydney and Newcastle conservatorium. I would freak out every time I broke a nail, thumb nails especially a hassle. Occasionally I would get acrylic nails in desperation and they were great BUT, they cut oxygen to the natural nail and made them paper thin and weak so when they grew out your nails were susceptible to further breakage. I play steel string and nylon and found the best maintenance is to file out the nicks on the edges as you get them. or just let your fingers go nude! Cheers

Good article, Adam. Like a couple of people above, I have super thin nails that tear easily. Yes, they don’t break, they tear like paper. I tried a hardening polish, but that just made them peel so bad I thought I was going to start losing them. Flesh, backed up with nail, seems the way to go for me, too. That said, I still find that I don’t get a satisfying grip and tone on the high E string. I’ll start paying closer attention to that.

O dear, we’re all grown men and we’re talking about nails and nailcare… What’s the world coming to? 🙂

I have a classical background and am now trying to play without nails on a steel string guitar – that really takes some getting used to. I may go for the acryllic nails… However, the great advantage for me to play with flesh is that it makes it much easier to play the piano. With long nails, that just doesn’t feel right.

What a relief to read this. I am trying to teach myself Classical Guitar using the Hal Leonard Classical Guitar Method and A Modern Approach to Classical Guitar. They are both really good and I can’t fault them.

I have a split nail on the middle finger and am sure the nail was permanently damaged when cleaning paint brushes with white spirit. I was really worried that this would prevent me getting any further than an intermediate level (no gloves).

However, having read that people like Sor and Guiliani used flesh, as well as your good self, I am now really happy to continue using flesh, with no embarrassing trips to the nail salon!

I have just been reading online discussions about pick v finger picking. I think a lot of people don’t seem to realise that with finger picking, you can play melody, harmony and base all at once, a bit like a pianist. To me, that wins the argument. Anyway, the classical guitar is designed for finger picking.

On this subject, there’s a very interesting video on YT, perhaps you’ve seen it already (and other by the same guy, that might be of interest to you, from a classical guitar player, but I’m sure you know that we can learn a lot from players playing different styles and/or instruments. Your posts make it clear…. Anyway, here’s the vid: https://youtu.be/4Vcf9K5BTNk?t=56

For years I grew nails for the nylon string guitars classical and jazz style, then a accident cause me to lose the end of one of my finger on the right hand. I tried growing along finger nail with half the length of a nail. That did not work, Tried using the little finger in place of the shorten finger, decided I won’t live long enough. My final choice was to use a pick and when finger picking us the flesh with the nails just even with the tip or shorter. This gives a sound that full and rich with nails even with tip volume slightly acoustically louder, this is a good thing because nail care with clippers, files and smooth small piece of sandpaper a lot less time than it was with nails.

I would definitely consider myself a professional advanced guitar player within the style I play in. But I have taught voice, guitar, and piano for over 30 years in the public and private teaching arenas. I majored in voice, and minors in both piano and guitar (I was on the practice rooms for hours everyday!) I find it easier to have long fingernails on my R.H. when I am in the classroom playing five days a week on my Takemine acoustic. But when I tried to play on my classical this summer, I find it harder to play and I think my nails are too long. Can I get a “happy medium as to length and shape so I would able to easily adapt to my R.H. Finger style from acoustic to classical guitar? I understand the physics as to why I have trouble but could getting the correct length and shape solve this problem?

Robert – if you think your nails are too long they probably are. I once met Pepe Romero and recently met a super flamenco guy Adam Del Monte – both have extremely short nails, just enough to get some attack. Regarding switching guitars, I always give myself adjustment time when I hop onto an electric or nylon. It’s pretty tricky to go between guitars all the time for me, becuase the adjustments need tome to settle 🙂

I thought I could make a good contribution here since I’ve been playing without a pick (more on this later) for the last 17 years. I learned how to play the guitar at 13, by myself, no teacher (big mistake if you ask me, but there is some reward in self teaching). Two years later I grew tired of the pick and started playing electric guitar with my fingers, using them this way (I’m right handed): outside side of index finger by the end of the distal nail fold against the lower tip of the thumb, using the index nail as a pick. The other three fingers extended. The position is similar to that of grabbing a pick, but without the pick. I got a nice sound, especially with overdrive. A year later still, got tired of electric guitars altogether and retook classic guitar. I let the other nails grow to ease the difficulty of arpeggios. Used the same technique for years until at 20 started playing bass guitar (electric). Just then realized that I’ve been using a mix between finger and flesh techniques, strumming the string with flesh first and nail a millisecond after on the same swing. How did I realize about that? Nail powder all over my bass. They were literally eaten by the bass strings, especially because I played in a progressive power metal band. Didn’t care, sound was great, velocity was great, tempo was great. I could play 16ths at 180/200bpm with no effort. That led to the improvement of my left hand technique, and both things regarded me with compliments all around. Some musicians who watched me play said I was one of the fastest (or better, depending on who said it) bass players in the city. Not THE fastest, not THE better, but one of them, which for a self taught kid who grabbed an old 70s decade guitar from the attic, is pretty damn good.

I’m kind of retired from the music circuit by now, but I still play my classic guitar from time to time, especially when I am alone. I watch my fingers and laugh, because people still try to figure out if I use flesh of nail, and I think I kinda use both, but I say to them: “trademark secret”

I hope this “trademark secret” helps some guitar and bass players all over the world to acquire a perspective over this issue.

Nice article and nice comments too! It’s amazing that this thread has been up active for so long!!

Thanks. Have been working on my right hand technique and trying out using nails. I like the tone (when I get it right). Stuart Ryan suggests making the first point of contact the top of your finger (flesh) then following through with your nail. I like the tone he gets with this. What are your thoughts?

I love your tone too. So, as you say, I guess its a matter of finding a method that works for you personally.

Being a technician myself, I am finding it quite difficult to keep the nails in shape. It can also hurt if you catch them at work. So it’s good news that some of the greats also play without nails.

This article was a good reminder about the basic physics of sound. Being a hobbyist and playing alone a lot, it’s easy to forget that what you hear as a player 40cm away from the sound hole, is quite different to what’s being heard on the other side of the room!

I’m a beginner-intermediate that’s been playing for 3.5 years. I tried to play fingerstyle flesh for 2 years and just could never produce good volume and my tone sounded muted to my ears. I first tried a thumbpick with flesh on the fingers but the bass was really all you heard with my playing. I tried fingerpicks a couple of times and tonally it was suddenly like I was playing a piano and it was balancing out my thumb but the picks felt heavy and cumbersome until I tried Alaska Piks which have the best feel. I have strong nails on my index and ring fingers but have weak nails on my middle finger. At this time I use thumbpick, Alaska Pik on middle and nails on index and ring. My teacher plays with nails and the technique he stresses to me is first engage the string with flesh and “roll off” with the nail. This seems to work well and it means that my nails only need to be about 1/16″ longer than my finger (looking at my finger from the back/pad size). It does not look too weird. I’ll also throw out a plug for Wolfram Nail Files, a nail file developed specifically for guitarists. I use it to maintain, shape, and polish my nails and I don’t have the hassle of a salon, takes me about 5 minutes every 2-3 days.

Good blog and comments, I like how Adam stresses it is about tone and flow. My teacher says to think of my guitar as a vocalist so speed is not as important. I enjoy this website, it likes hanging out at great coffee shop and talking about guitar playing with others.

I have found that fingerpicking on my Martin acoustic 00015M can be a problem if even one nail on my RH breaks or cracks. Now I have decided to play exclusively with my fingertips, and will focus on adjusting my striking pattern. It is easier than worrying about breaking a nail when working around the house, or doing an everyday task. The sound is usually somewhat muted, but I think with persistent practice, I can master the technique. Country fingerpicking is my favorite style. I am lousy at strumming, hate picks, and love the feeling of flesh on the string, making me feel closer to the action on my guitar.

John thanks for commenting. I work on my finger picking a lot – and here is the best advice I can give. Play with a quieter, but focused sound and really – I mean REALLY – reduce the thumb volume. That will put the sounds in balance. You may not be able to do all the exact patterns you would with nails, but you can play any groove you need to – country or otherwise.

Think of how a jazz singer sings in a controlled manner up on the mike, but an opera singer belts it out LOUD to fill the room. Us no nail guys have to do it a little more like the jazz singer on a mic, but get the effect of the opera singer!

After reading all the comments, I guess I am the only one who uses finger picks. :^) I use brass picks and do struggle with the extraneous string noise, but I have really good control of dynamics, and it seems like once I get to know the song well enough, I am better able to minimize the noise by striking the strings in the right spot at the right angle.

I cut my nails base on article and not do not like the sound at all. Its personal taste for sure. I have found that very long nails are not good for my intonation. 2-3mm lengh is enough for me to reach nice tone as im using particularly even skin altogether with nail. So good luck to all to find perfect tone. And last thing from my side. I cant play tones which people like but me not. I do play what i like. But im not commercial guy so ?

Finger picking is a method I have been practicing since Mark Knopfler and Simon & Garfunkle came on the seen (that ages me doesn’t it) and more so since seeing you in Caloundra, Aust.
Whilst I have managed to get a good grab on “Travis” picking (eg The Boxer) I have been frustrated by the difficulty of Mark Knopfler’s famous rhythm style which seems to have evolved from travis picking. Dire Straits “Walk of Life” in particular is what I am aiming at but there are of course many other examples. I understand what he does with the right hand thumb since it seems to only involve alternate downward stroke/movement on the top 6th and 5th strings ie plays a bass note. The difficulty is getting the fleshy tips of index and mid fingers to produce an even and audible strength sound. Have you any suggestions please?

Thanks Adam! After years of experimenting, I play with my bare fingers (no nails), with metal fingerpicks, and with a pick (strumming) – depending on the song. If you play a 4-hour show with just a vocalist, it helps to vary the guitar sound. Not to mention that we play folk, blues, jazz, oldies… The “drawback” of playing different styles is that the guitar signal varies too – I have to constantly adjust the mixer between the songs.

Good stuff, Adam. I play piano/keyboards also. I tried the RH nail thing for while. When they get too long, even that slight bit of contact when playing keyboards is annoying. It’s all flesh now. I sometimes uses a plectrum when playing electric guitar or when wanting to play a bit faster leads on nylon or steel acoustics. Being a vocalist, fingers prove to be more versatile for strumming and voicing chords. Thanks, man. Play on!

I’ve been playing since I was fourteen (I’m seventy now) – semi-pro when I was a lot younger, but still playing at or with friends. Still have my first guitar, a Guild concert acoustic parents bought me in 1962.

Always finger pick with nails. My nails are so hard it’s almost impossible to break them. I could file my nails into screwdriver shapes if I wanted to.

Just naturally fell into a claw style, tried using a thumb pick but it felt really foreign to me, couldn’t get the hang of it.

I’ve been playing since I was fourteen (I’m seventy now) – semi-pro when I was a lot younger, but still playing at home or with friends. Still have my first guitar, a Guild concert acoustic parents bought me in 1962.

Always finger pick with nails. My nails are so hard it’s almost impossible to break them. I could file my nails into screwdriver shapes if I wanted to.

Just naturally fell into a claw style, tried using a thumb pick but it felt really foreign to me, couldn’t get the hang of it.

I started fingerpicking guitar when I was doing carpentry work; talk about trouble keeping nails. As a recovering banjo player, the debate was more about switching from finger picks to fingernails rather than nails or flesh.
My heroes at the time: John Standefer, Ed Gerhard, Pete huttlinger used nails, so I disposed of the finger picks immediately.
Doing without a nail on my thumb is no problem, as a banjo player’s thumb is the powerhouse and I’ve needed to consciously tone it down to prevent the bass from drowning out everything else. Until now though, I never knew about the debate between nails and flesh. I’ve had acrylic nails before and the thickness of them seemed to muddy up the tone to me. Therefore I’m afraid of what I would hear if I cut my nails off.
Again, I am a recovering banjo player and have therefore grown accustomed to the bright sound of that instrument; which might be the cause of my trepidation. At the same time, I prefer a warmer sound than some of the very talented big names that I’ve heard in fingerstyle guitar, so maybe this will work for me.
At present, I just want to thank you for informing me of the possibilities. I love the notion of being rid of these fingernails, so maybe the next time one breaks (which is inevitable), rather than setting the guitar aside for a couple of weeks, I will just cut them all off.
This debate aside, I just want to thank you deeply Adam for the generosity that you display by providing these articles for us. Although your music immediately caught my attention, there is a genuinely warmthe & goodness that comes through your posts that is even more impressive then your music. Thank you.

I have not been nail-less for 10 years. I’m still on the fence! Going with none is a huge adjustment and there is always a trade off. I play a lot with no thumbpick, and that adds to thumpy muddiness. However, when I listen back to the music recordied, often it sounds good, the perception is very different while playing.

Whatever you do, allow it to settle. Your groove and sound will shine through if you cultivate any approach.

Personally I prefer what’s regularly referred to as nail-backed flesh, with the nail barely — if at all — visible when looking at my extended fingers from the palm side. That gives me wide dynamics in plucking strings or strumming downward.
My nails have always been strong enough that they rarely broke, until several years ago. At that time I started noticing more chipping and breaking, and I resorted to trying nail hardener, with only limited success.
Then a blood test following a routine checkup showed low iron (apparently, as it turned out, from donating blood too often for someone of my light build). After taking the prescribed iron supplements for a few months, I found that my nails became strong again!
More recently, my wife, who has had weak nails much of her life, was prescribed a variety of supplements, including supplemental iron, and has been glad to have her nails get much stronger.
Some online research has shown me that brittle nails are indeed associated with iron deficiency. Although it seems there are usually other symptoms that I’ve never suffered, such as fatigue, for me there is a strong correlation between iron level and nail strength. By continuing a modest iron supplement regime, I can continue donating blood and playing fingerstyle with a bit of nail. Since ferrous gluconate tablets are cheap, that’s an all-around winner!

Excellent blog. My favorite sound and attack is what I call “flesh supported nail”. You get the warmth of the flesh, with a bit of nail definition. The nail stays short enough not to be too vulnerable. I suspect Leo Kottke does some of that. Also , before Tommy E went God, I spoke with him in a small club (Johnny D’s in Somerville) We had a brew at the bar and I asked him to show me his picking hand. They looked beat up like the ones on anxious teens. No nails to speck of, but enough to be part of the sound with the right curve of the knuckle. His nail bed was very close the edge of the fingers, lucky for him. I think that is what gives him such a well defined attack . He does not snap the strings to get it, it happens on contact.. I hate fake nails, super toxic for me., and can sound harsh to me. Ping Pong nails sound very sweet actually, very close to the natural nail sound ( Renbourn and do check out Lyle Brewer ) When I break a nail I even them out, and work with what I have.
Ultimately, we must stop thinking about nails and start playing a lot and get the sound you get with the hands you got. Cheers ! Bertrand

Adam. I am so glad I read your comments. I have been struggling with nail issue for years and was at the point of giving up and sticking to playing with a pick on my Les Paul Custom and ditching my Talyor acoustics (amp,ivied and not amplified).

Hey Adam, I come to this thread very late but find all of the comments interesting and useful. I have been playing over 50 years and have tried virtually every approach to picks and nails there is. For about twenty years, I never picked up an acoustic guitar without a thumb pick and two metal finger-picks. While I was playing in a country band and utilizing an Albert Lee style hybrid picking, I opted to try this on an acoustic after seeing Richard Thompson and discovered I like the tone much better. (It took a while to build up volume.) It has been flatpick and fingers ever since. Short nails, long nails, flesh, Alaska pick, Fred Kelly freedom picks, national metal finger picks, dunlop plastic ones, etc. I finally settled on flatpick and flesh and learned to play almost everything I used to finger pick using the hybrid style. Really enjoyed the article/blog and I will look for more of them.